Abu Dhabi: Hong Kong won the toss and asked India to bat first in the latter’s opening clash of the ongoing Asia Cup here at Dubai International Stadium on Tuesday.
Following the toss, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma said, “It is important to get used to the conditions as soon as possible, but the boys have prepared well and are raring to go. Asia Cup is the biggest tournament in Asia, and it’s quite competitive, so you cannot take your step off the pedal. It is something we’ve spoken about, but the boys are excited.”
Rohit continued: “It’s the first time they’re (the team) playing in this part of the world. Our batting has always dominated and we were worried about our bowling, but it’s the opposite now, and it is something we are looking at.”
Reflecting on the playing XI, Sharma confirmed that fast bowler Khaleel would be making his ODI debut against Hong Kong in the match.
Hong Kong captain Anshuman Rath, on the other hand, said that the team is looking forward to seeing how the pitch behaves during the course of the match.
India will look to kick-start their Asia Cup campaign on a winning note as it will help them gain some momentum ahead of their much-hyped second clash of the tournament against arch-rival Pakistan.
Following are the India and Hong Kong squads for the match:
India- Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Khaleel Ahmed.
Hong Kong- Nizakat Khan, Anshuman Rath (c), Babar Hayat, Christopher Carter, Kinchit Shah, Ehsan Khan, Aizaz Khan, Scott McKechnie (wk), Tanwir Afzal, Ehsan Nawaz, Nadeem Ahmed.
[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]